Waiting for 'Superman'

Director Davis Guggenheim has been endlessly praised for his 2010 title 'Waiting for 'Superman'. The title swept the awards ceremonies clean, picking up 14 awards amongst 25 nominations. I feel however, I should have learned by now, not to trust awards when it comes to choosing documentaries to watch.

flaglerlive.com

Waiting for 'Superman' is of course a documentary that will have captured the hearts of American film festival judges, not just for bureaucratic reasons, but because they can relate to the story within the film. For us, as an audience (an overseas audience at that), it is less of a documentary, more of a visual proposal, a presentation of far too many statistics for any one person to take in first time round. Perhaps the most fitting award nomination the film received then is this one (IMDB):

Alliance of Women Film Journalists 2010

Nominated EDA Special Mention Award

Movie You Wanted to Love, But Just Couldn't

http://www.dvdbeaver.com

Mainly I wanted to challenge the unnecessary inclusion of archive of 'The Simpsons', and 'School of Rock' that seemed to attempt to break up the endless narration that never actually arrived at a solid conclusion. Surely it's just a waste of money. Then I remembered Guggenheim made 'An Inconvenient Truth' and probably still has the money to spend on idle content. If the point was to highlight that bad education had become so much a part of the US education infrastructure that it was even embedded within popular culture, then ok, I get the link. But Guggenheim instead could have spent the time and money showing us real representations of the issues. I wanted to hear personal accounts, testimonies, not just watch yet another persons fictional interpretation of the system. Is that what the issue is, fictional?

http://www.dvdbeaver.com

It just didn't move me to want to make a difference, nor did it make me feel as though there was a way I could help at all. Although Guggenheim's graphical finale supports that no big changes have ever started in the White House, they have started with people, started with you... I felt there was nothing willing me to support the cause, nothing compelling me to do so.

The film consisted of far too many accounts of failure, far too many interviews, far too much description and narration and nowhere near enough visual evidence. I read somewhere that a good documentary will have the power to persuade you of it's cause by images alone, and 'Waiting for Superman' just didn't. I felt, nothing.

Michelle Rhee - nytimes.com

It may have taken us through some of the attempts to alter the US education system with some nice archive of Michelle Rhee in her battles against angry parents. But I had no real emotional attachment to any of our featured children that allowed me to really feel for them at their acceptance/rejections into better schools at the ever anticipated 'lottery'.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com

The film wasn't completely elusive, it had some great graphical elements and held at least one memorable moment with young Anthony who is already planning for the future of his children as his own is still being decided. But I don't think that Guggenheim completely succeeded in humanising the statistics flooding out of the academic sinkholes of the US.

graphical elements - http://www.dvdbeaver.com

Many say it's well made, others say it's an important documentary to watch, some say it compels change... I disagree. I think to compel an audience to act, they need to SEE real people's experiences, not just HEAR them. In this I don't think Guggenheim did as well as he could. It's a commentary, not a documentary. On the subject of commentary, for a film about children, I also wanted to hear a lot more from them than I did. For a film about education, I wanted to see a lot more REAL on-location footage in classrooms, like the shot of Anthony holding his hand up, rather than just that single token shot. That single shot, did not lay down a narrative of reality for me, the visuals were not enough to convince me. But that's just me. Who knows, you might think differently. 

Waiting for Superman is available on Amazon for the modest UK price of £2.86 so why not decide for yourself! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Waiting-For-Superman-Davis-Guggenheim/dp/B004OBZLO6

'Eye to the Viewfinder' - One to Watch

tees.ac.uk

I first saw Paige’s film ‘Eye to the Viewfinder’ advertised as part of the Imperial War Museum’s short film festival. Unfortunately I’d missed the showing due to filming my own short documentary but managed to track Paige down, who very kindly allowed me to watch it.

And from that, Paige is definitely one to watch for the future. She had some really good interviews with a range of good contributors, including Paul Clark, a photographer with the army film unit during WW2. The colour temperature was a little different on Mick Howard's interview but I don’t think we can fault her for that amongst such a piece. The sound was flawless so I think that pulls it back.

visitmiddlesbrough.com

The strongest part of the film was when our contributors shared their combat stories, and the archive was selected to match. It added a sense of danger, of conflict and a greater appreciation for the photos and videos produced. It was a great insight into the work of the army, and its photographers. Archive was well sourced, showing a range of conflicts from Ardoyne to Iraq and I found myself lost in the photographs.

Truth be told, the narrative lacked a bit of story development at the beginning, as in, at that point I wasn’t sure what the film was trying to tell me, but by the middle I was captivated by the experiences of those on screen, particularly Stuart McKenzie and Mick Howard. Paige obviously has an eye for a story and a keen enthusiasm for sharing it with the world. What was great is that we learned about our contributors as photographers rather than as soldiers, who have to compete with the world’s media in getting their shots to the front page. The film values them, and rightly so!

Overall, a great addition to the short film festival and perhaps an even better addition to the IWM army archive? Paige I wish you luck with the rest of the film’s journey and look forward to your next film! 

Ida (2013)

downpourbg.com

'Ida' was a wonderfully understated coming of age, discovery story. From acclaimed Polish-British director Pawel Pawlikowski we were thrown back to 1962 with black and white footage and a recovering post-war Poland. Ida is about to take her vows as a nun having been raised in a convent before meeting her only surviving relative and discovering that she is in fact Jewish and that all of her family are dead. Ida narrowly escaped the same fate, being only an infant and unidentifiable as Jewish and so, Ida and her aunt, set off on a journey to find out what happened to their relatives and what it means for them.

www.elantepenultimomohicano.com

There are a few stylistic choices within the film that I'm not sure I understood. For example, the many shots framed so that the action took place right at the bottom of the screen with five times the head room above it. I'm not sure what it was symbolising, was it the masses of information they still had to find out about their family, was it to make our characters seem small in a much bigger world, was it the weight of what lay ahead of them pushing down on them, or was it just an artistic choice? Who knows, but it was an interesting new perspective.

film.interior.pl

The power of 'Ida' was more in the silences than in what is said. The script is subtle, the emotion hidden, it is left for us the audience, to determine. It does not over indulge in moments. We never see the reaction from the elderly man that hid their family after he has been accused of killing them. We never revisit his son whom killed the family once he has shown Ida and her aunt where they were buried. We don't dwell too long on missed moments which is remarkably innovative in a film where these moments of discovery are the motives of our two main characters.

filmweb.pl

Similarly though, I'm still not sure if I liked this or if I hated it, but we don't dwell on the fact that we never really know anything about the family. Only that they were Jewish, they were hidden in a barn and then killed in the woods. We instead dreamt up the personalities of our victims for ourselves. But perhaps Pawel Pawlikowski was making a post-war statement, that no-one remembered who our victims were before they became victims. The generation and identity of so many, was lost. We can draw whatever meaning we wish from the films stylistic choices and subtlety, and I think that is perhaps why I like it so much. You could watch it in a cinema and everyone could take away something different. It's nice to have a bit of ambiguity on screen for a change.

 The only part of the film I was frustrated by, is not knowing. We don't know what goes on inside Ida's head. We don't ever hear her vocalise her reactions, even as she mourns and belatedly takes on her aunts advice and experiences life before she vows to sacrifice it. But the final scene doe not give anything away. She walks towards the convent, we think, and will now take her vows...but will she? What will become of Ida? I wanted to know!

We may never know, but the subtlety and haunting nature of 'Ida' will stay with me for some time. I will definitely watch it again soon, to see what more I can decipher from the silence.

The Missing Picture

'The Missing Picture' is one of the most unique documentaries I've ever seen. It is told from the point of view of one man, our narrator, as he recalls his experiences of the communist oppression of the Cambodian proletariat in the 1970s.

Vividly depicted by dynamic camera moves across clay figurines and remarkable archive reels that were interestingly camouflaged within the scenes, the film does well to keep the audience stimulated. The support of some abundantly sourced sound effects and music helped those clay lifeless people become the real people of our story, as they fell victim to the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. We feel among them, we feel as though the narrator is speaking to us, as he does not preach, nor teach, just tells his story as remembers it.

The only images I have ever seen of Cambodia are post 1992 and therefore, the archive reels of a once bustling city and of dancers, were reels I had not expected to come from Cambodia. The nature of the film, told through the modelling of these personified clay figures, managed to turn off my reviewing senses and allow me simply to watch, to take in, to interpret and to learn.

The film was not one of fact, it did not provide an in-depth explanation of the period or regime, but it did through one man's story, encourage me to research it for myself. I found that:

• The Khmer Rouge forced over 2 million people from their city homes, to travel to the countryside and work in the same horrendous conditions as our narrator. 
• Since the end to the regime, over 20,000 mass graves have been found, and estimates range between 2-3million dead as a result.
• It's thought that an additional 650,000 Cambodians died of starvation within the next year.
• Although the Khmer Rouge were thrown out in 1979, they existed through until 1996 when they finally dissolved. 
• What perhaps is salt in the wound, is that Pol Pot, the man in charge of running such an oppressive regime, died in 1998, having never been tried for what he'd done.

I want to know more. How is it, that I never knew the extent of Cambodian suffering during this time and how is it, that it still continues in some way today, around the world? I will certainly be devoting time towards finding out more. I hope to visit Cambodia too, where I hope to add more than just an education on it's recent history and review an understanding of what took place there.

I read once that a successful documentary is when an audience does not return with comments of how something was shown, or how it could have been shown better, but when they talk about the issue of the film. If that definition is correct, then 'The Missing Picture' remaining, is for me to agree. A brilliantly unique depiction of human suffering and resilience. One I feel I would need to watch again and again, to truly appreciate the every detail of our artist's recreation.

Why 'Sports Personality of the Year 2014' is One of the Worst Live Shows I've Seen...

One of the BBC broadcast highlights of the annual calendar, 'Sports Personality of the Year' - and it had no personality at all.

bbc.co.uk

Sports personality is about the sportsmen and women, the PEOPLE who have achieved great things within their relevant sport. The live show was more about the glitz, the showbiz, than it was about the athletes. The vision mixing was poor, particularly throughout the sequence paying tribute to those we've lost. We could see great archive footage of these greats in action on the screen behind, but the audience at home instead got footage of the violinist. This show is about sport, about those who have made names for themselves through sport and showed us greatness in the process. I wanted to share their moments of greatness, not watch wide-shot pans of the auditorium and the violinist on stage.

freeview.co.uk

Then there were the badly scripted (I almost hope it was unscripted) words of a half-hearted Gary Lineker and Gabby Logan. It is the presenters job to lead those who come onstage and make them feel at ease with where they need to be... Not call after them telling them to stay on stage for the final shot... where was the preparation, the rehearsal... where was the presenters professionalism? Thank god for Clare Balding, who offered us some genuineness and energy. Ok, so Gary couldn't help being ill, but it all seemed like a push to fill an unnecessary lengthy piece of television, only to overrun. HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THAT - IT WAS TWO AND A HALF HOURS LONG.

The show needs to be shorter, it needs to cut the crap. It needs to show us the sportsmen and women who have earned our respect above whatever the hell is happening onstage. It is after all SPORTS personality of the year. When the contenders are left standing onstage feeling stupid, the wait on stage is too long. We should already be on the next award, on the next VT (all of which were brilliant by the way) or on the next link. I hope all of this can be blamed on a budget cut... but it would have to be a pretty big one to make it as an excuse in my eyes.

I'm happy for all of the winners tonight, particularly Lewis being an avid fan but in my opinion, the standard of live broadcasting was appalling and definitely needs a rethink. Maybe next year eh?!

Religion is People

It seems for most of us, it's harder to have faith in people than it is to assume the worst. I must be a bit of a weird one in that I am often blown away by human actions for good reasons, far more often than I am by bad.

Ok, so he wasn't dressed like this - but still

For example, I think I found Santa! My partner and I were on the overground on our way to support a friend at his comedy gig, and a child was tired and crying. It didn't matter what her dad tried to do to make her stop, she kept crying. A man sat nearby had clearly just been Christmas shopping and was laden with gifts. He reached into his bag and pulled out a teddy bear. He gave it to the dad to calm the child down and lo and behold, it worked.

The tube stopped a few stops down the line and the father and daughter turned to get off the train. The dad reached out to the man to give him back his teddy bear and the man simply said, 'no, don't worry, keep it'. What a lovely man! It was certainly an easy way to cheer up an entire carriage. As I looked around everyone in the train was smiling having just witnessed a very natural and spontaneous act of kindness. It was definitely Santa in disguise!

Alan Turing

I find it quite hard to explain even to my partner how much people inspire me. I honestly think they are amazing. Having just seen 'The Imitation Game' and seeing how much Alan Turing achieved, even though he found it hard to make friends and was labelled an odd ball, really got to me. As I tried to explain why I have so much faith in people, I found I couldn't even finish my sentence. I was crying. And that is why I cannot explain why people amaze me so much, because it is so overpowering that there just aren't words to express it. 

Others say such faith is naive, but I disagree. I think it's wonderful. I don't follow a religion but if I had to choose one, my religion would be people. Call it what you like, but take some time to look around this Christmas. There are lots of horrible things happening in the world but people, even amidst a world of suffering, can be wonderful. For example, my 88yr old grandmother had her purse stolen from her bag this week, and the thief ran off with an old lady's pension money she was hoping to spend on looking nice at her grandson's wedding. At this point, yes, people suck. Then comes a young policeman who's duty was to take down what happened. He didn't stop there though. He walked arm in arm with my grandmother to the post office to cancel her card before ensuring that an elderly lady was escorted home in a police car in case she was shaken up by what had happened. That last bit, is not in his job description, but he did it anyway, because he really cared about my grandmother getting home safe. At this point, people are great!

So, like I say, look around this Christmas, maybe you'll find yourself being wonderful too!

Merry Christmas!

3 Winters

Sophie Rundle & Jodie McNee - independent

'3 Winters' has endured a barrage of good reviews being considered a 'subtle epic' by TimeOut, but having spent 2hrs 40mins in the theatre, I left just as indifferent as when I arrived. The official National Theatre rating for it was 3 stars, Though I'd knock that back to two.

Siobhan Finneran - lovetheatre.com

Credit where credit's due, Jodie McNee as Alisa was full of energy and kept the audience's attention through opinionated insults towards her sister, Lucia (Sophie Rundle) and verbal attacks on political views of her father (Rawlins). Siobhan Finneran as the mother was great on stage too; tired facial expressions that said it all, comedy moments that were played out so perfectly as to suggest the growing annoyance and banter between husband and wife over the years. She was also wonderful to watch when looking after her elderly father (Laurenson). She managed the motherly position better than I have ever seen on stage. Certainly tops Brendan Coyle's performance in Mojo last year! Although on-stage husband, Adrian Rawlins, did not act with any particular conviction. It was more saying lines than acting them. 

Susan Engel & James Laurenson - dailymail

Susan Engel was among the best, as was her younger self played by Hermione Gulliford. They captured the mentality of a woman who has been locked away for all of her life as well as capturing her class in being brought up as a lady. Karolina, feels no sense of entitlement, having sent Marsha and her mother to the streets to live. But now, she is sorry and spends the next 66yrs becoming friends with Marsha's mother and living alongside as part of the Kos family. Lucy Black as Dunya with Dunya when acting alongside Charlotte Beaumont as the younger Lucia were joyous to watch as Beaumont captured the energy and excitement of a young child with a polaroid camera. Sibling rivalry was rife and it made the early years entertaining to watch. Although entertainment, or anything else, seemed to lack from the rest of the play.

3 Winters - NationalTheatre

The tale was dry. It lacked a point. It was simply a story that I felt had no purpose and therefore just didn't need to be told. It half-heartedly made a statement about hierarchy, class and entitlement but never really arrived at the point. What was it we were supposed to learn? That entitlement is false, that hypocrisy is rife or that countries prone to revolution are almost certain to face a conflict of interest and of values?

There was no resolution. I think that's my issue. The characters just went their own way which left us waiting for something to happen. And it never did. Alisa left one way and Lucia got married and went the other. What lessons were learned, we will never know.

To hand it to them, the cast did good with what they had, but they didn't have a lot to begin with. 

World Press Exhibition

Peter Holgersson, Sweden

The female form has always been the subject of many photographers, artists and film-makers. Yet this exhibition, truly showed how it's no longer just about the bodily form, but about what women represent. In this exhibition, they shone through as representations of anything and everything.

Markus Schreiber, Germany

We had women as objects of sexual desire in the Legends Football League which shows women playing football in lingerie (which has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of). We had women as the victims of abuse in a series of photographs of a young girl, her child and her partner. We also had women as symbols of remarkable strength and willpower, particularly in the heptathlon photos of Nadja Casadei who was diagnosed with cancer yet still kept up her vigorous training programme whilst undergoing chemotherapy. And there was one image of a woman with such sadness in her eyes it brought tears to mine, as she'd waited and waited whilst access to see Nelson Mandela's casket was closed.

Fred Ramos, El Salvador

It wasn't just women though, it was great representation of humanity as a whole, bad and good. The photos leaked creativity and insight into stories from across the world, which obviously got my documentary blood pumping. There were some images that really stood out to me as I walked around the Royal Festival Hall.

One was this one, the clothes of victims of homicide showing us just how futile attempts to discover who those who once wore these clothes might be. It showed also just how unremarkable we are as humans as we disappear into the ground and leave nothing behind.

Taslima Akhter, Bangladesh

Another, was the image of the collapsed Rana Plaza building with two people, a male and a female, embracing one another as they are photographed dead amongst the rubble. No-one knows what the relationship between the two people was, but I think it shows a lot about human strength and hope, amidst a disaster that shows humanity's flaws simultaneously.

Danila Tkachenko, Russia

The next group of images really spoke to me as someone who enjoys her own company perhaps a little too much. There was a group of photos showing three men who have secluded themselves from the world and where they live. I'd be interested to know what people's reactions were to the images as to me, I felt a real sense of envy and appreciation for their freedom but I know others might have walked past and coined them 'weirdos' and that's that.

Robin Hammond, New Zealand

 The next image that stood out to me, were the images of men chained to posts and walls, forced to live outside or in the darkness of shacks with locks on, in various African countries. When I wandered nearer to read the description of why they were chained up, was met with the explanation that they were suffering from mental illness or disability and were treated this way in order to heal them. I was appalled and at the same time intrigued as to how very different cultures and understanding can be across the globe.

Peter Van Agtmael, USA

The final images that stuck out were those of Bobby Henline. As he walked down the street our photographer captured the very moment that those around him realized his disfigurement. I feel as though in this picture, each face tells a story. You can almost hear the thoughts in their heads. A frizzy haired mother looking on at him confused, a distracted father and daughter, an older brother oblivious to Bobby's presence who looks ahead to his next antic, a younger brother looking both in wonder and in fear at this bold man walking down the street. Bobby, knowing people will stare and trying to continue to walk boldly with his head held high. It really captures a story in just one second.

Carla Kogelman, The Netherlands

Goran Tomasevic, Serbia

There are so many more that really spoke to me. There were pictures of two blonde girls who had complete freedom and made me wanted to run faster than ever back to my home-town and back to my childhood. There was an image of a swimmer doing backstroke where I couldn't quite decide which part of the body was which and that strangely made it more beautiful. There were the blind albino boys in the school in West Benghal and the diver surrounded by a dark sea abyss of nothingness that was both beautiful and disconcerting simultaneously. There were pictures of the Boston marathon bombs, of wrestlers and their mothers, of organized murders in Mexico, of families taking cover on the ground of Nairobi's Westgate Mall during the massacre and incredible shots of Syrian rebel fighters taking cover from Syrian army amid debris. The images really were incredible and showed the full range of human experience. I could spend hours staring into the eyes of these timeless pictured moments.

The exhibition could really do with some video coverage, asking the viewers which photos stood out, which told a story, what they thought of certain photos. It could make a great video by engaging audience members with the photography and really making them think, just as the photographers intended.


There are so many images I couldn't include in this blog that completely broaden your perspective on life so explore them all for yourself. If you missed the exhibition at the Royal festival Hall, then visit: http://www.worldpressphoto.org/awards/2014